The medallions on either side of the bowl are embossed with scenes from Greek mythology depicting the Battle of Centaurs and Lapiths, a popular subject in Renaissance art. The compositions derive in part from design by Rosso Fiorentino (1494–1540), one of the Italian artists called to Fontainebleau to work for the French court.

Probably made for Henry II of France (reigned 1547–59), the helmet passed as a diplomatic gift to the Medici court in Florence later in the sixteenth century. It is illustrated in a portrait of Cosimo II de' Medici (1590–1621), grand duke of Tuscany, in the Metropolitan Museum's collection (acc. no. 22.150).

Gothic Hall (London, England) and Christie, Manson & Woods. A Catalogue of the Third and Last Part of the Truly Magnificent Collection of Ancient Armour and Arms of Various Periods and Almost of Every Nation, with Rare and Costly Weapons. London, April 6–7, 1821. no. 229.

Dean, Bashford. Handbook of Arms and Armor: European and Oriental, Including the William H. Riggs Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Gilliss Press, January 1915. p. 136, pl. XXXIV.

Dean, Bashford. Handbook of Arms and Armor: European and Oriental, Including the William H. Riggs Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 3rd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 1921. pl. XXXIV.

Luchinat, Cristina Acidini. The Medici, Michelangelo, and the Art of Late Renaissance Florence. New Haven: Yale University Press in association with the Detroit Institute of Arts, 2002. pp. 275, 277, no. 135, ill.